InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Growing Up Hanyou ❯ Nao ( Chapter 7 )

Nao

By: InitialA/TuxedoUranus89

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.

LiveJournal Community: http://community.livejournal.com/tu89_ia_fanfics/

Author's Notes: Wah, I would have started this sooner, but I lost my notebook with all the little plot bunnies in it! But I've found it now, and I'm very, very excited to start this chapter. I've been working towards this one for a while, and I hope you enjoy it. (all italicized sections are flashbacks, just to clear up any confusion that may spring up right away)

 

“We think your daughter has Williams Syndrome.”

 

He watched his mate stare blankly out the window; there were circles under her eyes he hadn't noticed before, the strain of the last few years was taking its toll. At two years old, their second daughter, Nao, had undergone two major heart surgeries already, and a third was being considered. Her twin, Ryuu, had thankfully been just as healthy as Izayoi and Sachi at birth, but just a few weeks after they'd been brought home, she had suddenly stopped breathing. After rushing to the hospital, Nao had been revived, and the source had been diagnosed as aortic valve stenosis. InuYasha had no idea what any of that meant, until Kagome explained that her heart wasn't able to pump blood from one side to the other very well.

 

“They'll have to go in and fix her heart so this won't happen anymore.” She spoke calmly, as if things like this happened every day in their lives, but inside, she was screaming.

 

Now, two years and as many surgeries to fix it later, blood work had been done, and Nao was diagnosed with Williams Syndrome; he wasn't sure what that was either, and the doctors certainly hadn't been helpful, saying it was different in every person who had it. Something with genetics and chromosomes and other scientific bullshit he didn't really want to deal with. He knew his daughter was different than his other pups: she was a miniature, near-perfect copy of her mother, and had the miko powers to prove it.

 

“Kaa! Tou! `Ook!” Nao's smile was wide as could be as a ball of pale flame danced around her. Kagome merely watched, more cautious than fearful; InuYasha couldn't see what they were looking at, but sensed something supernatural.

A kitsune spirit appeared briefly, tugging Nao's hair for luck, and vanished in the blink of an eye. Her mother sighed, smiling ruefully. “Well, at least someone else around here will be able to seal Sachi in his room when he's temperamental.”

 

Nao and Ryuu, while twins, couldn't be more different. When she wasn't exhausted, Kagome often joked that they were the gods' little prank, a literal representation of yin and yang. They looked almost identical, the same black hair, pointed ears like their uncle, and warm mahogany eyes, but that's where it ended. Nao was smaller and thinner, with pixie-like features, and a small bank of miko fire within her. Ryuu's demon blood was dominant, his hands adorned with claws, and fangs whenever he smirked, just like his father. She was left-handed; he was right. Ryuu turned human on the waxing crescent moon; Nao turned hanyou, complete with silver hair and puppy ears, her miko spirit becoming dormant. The first month of the change, the house had been filled with wails: neither pup had any idea what was going on. Nao's nature was sweet and friendly, and Ryuu was showing signs of his father's infamous dislike of crowds.

Her pixyish-appearance and her all-around different nature, had been yet another reason for the blood tests. Today, they were scheduled to take her back to the hospital for an fMRI, and some tests for any mental disabilities. Again, InuYasha had no idea what any of that was going to accomplish, if it wasn't going to fix his daughter, and make his wife the cheerful, good-natured woman he'd fallen in love with so long ago. “Kagome?”

 

Her face was glowing. “We're having twins.”

He paled slightly; the two they had were handfuls and a half. But he didn't have the heart to erase that beam from her face with his fears. “Twins?”

“Aren't you excited?” Her face fell a little, sensing his anxiety.

“I am. Don't get me wrong, Kagome. I'm just… we have enough trouble with the two we've got.” He told her quickly.

She shook her head. “I know, InuYasha… But Sachi's gotten a little better about bedtime. We've talked with Iza about tormenting him. I think we can do this.”

She spoke from her heart, a wistful glimmer in her eyes, and he believed her.

 

She turned, and the look on her face was enough to break his heart. Unshed tears glistened in her eyes, and she looked as though the whole world rested on her shoulders. Her arm was still bruised from the last blood donation she'd given in preparation for Nao's next surgery; their blood types were the same, AB, and the infusions of pure-human blood didn't hurt her as they might her siblings. “InuYasha…”

He walked over to her, and held her close. He worried about her. He'd noticed the little things lately—at 26, she'd lost her youthful energy; the bags under her eyes were darker than he'd originally thought. There was a worry line forming between her brows. He feared she was slowly starting to age, and watching her die might be the one thing that could kill him. “It'll be ok, koi. We're just going for tests; she's not getting surgery this time.” He told her softly, running his claws through her hair.

She nodded. “I know… I'm just so worried…”

 

“What do you mean, you think?!” Kagome cried, fighting against InuYasha's hold.

“We need to take a closer examination of the DNA samples we received, but there appears to be some sort of anomaly in her seventh chromosome. It's a rare chance, but with the behavioral and physical attributes your daughter has, there's a very good chance that she has Williams Syndrome.” The genetics specialist informed them, unfazed by Kagome's outburst.

InuYasha tightened his grip on his trembling wife. “What are the chances?”

The specialist glanced at his charts. “One in seven-thousand five hundred; nowhere near as common as autism or Downs Syndrome, but the good news is that we've discovered it early enough that we can begin working on discovering the more prominent disabilities she will have once she's further along in development. She can get the help she needs, and live a relatively normal life.”

“Relatively?! She'll lead a perfectly normal life! Because there's NOTHING wrong with my daughter!” Kagome yelled, furious.

“Nishi-san, you cannot deny that the problems with her heart are anything but normal; her condition is not normal. It will be years before she's able to get a permanent valve replacement. She will have to do the best she can with the—”

InuYasha interrupted him. “Stop. Don't say anything else.” He snapped as Kagome buried her face into his chest and sobbed.

 

Sachi poked his head in the room. “Mama?”

InuYasha growled softly, letting him know it was ok. The three-year old cautiously climbed up on his parents' bed, and snuggled next to his mother. “Don't be sad, Mama…” He mumbled as she put her arm around him.

InuYasha's heart hurt. Sachi had calmed down after becoming a big brother, his nature turning quiet and thoughtful, with an almost crippling shyness that made him stick to his mother like glue. He was as sensitive to her mood changes as InuYasha. Sachi hadn't been the only one to change since the arrival of their younger siblings: Izayoi had almost been forced to grow up beyond her five years, taking both of her brothers in hand while Kagome fretted over Nao's health after that first attack. Kagome herself, aside from worrying herself sick, was also starting to scare him with how often she spoke of death. He still remembered that first, alarming conversation they'd had, after the second time their youngest had almost died…

 

“InuYasha…”

“Yeah?” He grunted, still on edge from looking away for one second before Nao had had a seizure that resulted in the latest trip to the hospital.

“She won't die, will she?” Kagome didn't look at him, instead watching through the window as half a dozen doctors surrounded their nine-month old daughter.

“No, Kagome. She won't die.” He hoped he wasn't lying.

If he was, he wasn't sure who he was trying to convince: her, or himself.

She looked away. “People survive this stuff all the time… They do, I know they do… but they never talk about their families. How hard it is to stand by and watch as all this terrible stuff happens… and you can't do anything about it…”

He reached over and took her hand. He worried that she blamed him for not watching Nao carefully enough, but deep down, he knew that even if he'd been watching, he'd have only seen her eyes roll back into her head as she'd started convulsing. Kagome leaned against his arm. He shifted, holding her against him, and buried his nose into her hair; he couldn't watch all those people doing Kami-knew what to their daughter. There were only the usual hospital noises to be heard until his mate spoke again, quieter than before. “What would happen to you if I died?”

InuYasha stiffened. He stopped breathing. The entire world stopped spinning in that instant as the question he'd dreaded thinking about for years was shoved at him abruptly. Kagome merely shifted and looked up at him; she had to know the mental anguish he was going through at her voicing the very thought he'd squashed for decades. She had to.

When he'd found his voice, he croaked, “Why do you want to know that?”

“Because I'm going to die. Someday, anyway…”

He couldn't feel anything anymore. And the fucking wench decided to drive the nail home. “I won't live as long as you, you know that. You, Izayoi, Sachi, Ryuu… even Nao might live longer than me. A lot longer. I'll be gone in the blink of an eye by your standards, and I want to know what will happen to you all. Will you be ok without me? Will you forget me?”

He didn't hear any more as a roaring sound filled his ears. Dimly he felt himself detach from her and in a blind panic, rushed into the nearest bathroom and barely made it to the toilet in time to empty his stomach. After that, he proceeded to faint dead away on the cold bathroom tiles.

 

He still hurt to think she might think he'd forgotten her. Even in five hundred years of separation, he hadn't forgotten her. She still spoke of it sometimes. It was alarmingly morbid, how much she focused on death. Nao's mortality and the number of times they'd almost lost her seemed to have hit home more than the number of times any of their old friends had died during their adventures in the Sengoku Jidai. More than any number of times he'd nearly died. “Come on… we'll be late.” He grunted, half to himself, as he stood and walked out of the room.

Nao looked up from her dollhouse as InuYasha entered hers and Ryuu's bedroom. Her smile was wide and innocent. “Tou-chan!”

He carefully scooped her into his arms and held her. “You feeling okay today?” He asked in a gentle voice, masking his own fears for her sake.

“Yes, Tou-chan, vewy good. Wanna pway?” She asked, her words only a little hard to understand. InuYasha hoped it wasn't another sign of something wrong with her.

He smiled despite it. “We can't right now, sennyo.” He told her, tweaking a pointed ear. She giggled. “Later, after we get home.”

“We goin' somewheres?” Nao asked.

“You have to see Dr. Kino again, remember?” At this, Nao's face turned fearful. He quickly recovered, “It won't hurt this time, I made him promise.” Her face relaxed.

She sat up in his arms suddenly. “Kaa-san comin'.” She announced. “Kaa!”

While her human blood dominated her appearance and abilities, they weren't sure if her superior hearing was a side-effect of her dormant demon blood, or if it was another sign of her disorder. They had been told it would be a few years before it could be determined more fully. Kagome smiled at her youngest as she walked in; InuYasha wished she'd smile more, it took the illusion of age off her face. “Ready to go, sweetling?” She asked, holding out her arms.

Nao was lighter than a bird, and was easily cradled against her mother's chest. “Tou-chan, Puru.” She said.

Grabbing the purple doll, InuYasha followed the two downstairs, where Izayoi was entertaining Ryuu with a puzzle. The boy was clearly agitated with it, the pieces being smaller than he was used to, and kept digging his claws into the carpet. “Iza, did Obaasan call?”

“No, Mama.” Izayoi replied calmly, sounding worlds older than her seven years. “She's almost here though, it's nearly time for you to go.”

Ryuu's face broke into brief happiness as he fit two pieces together without having to smash them down. “Got one!”

InuYasha squatted down, inspecting the half-finished work. “Good job, pup. What's this supposed to be of again?”

The look he was given could have peeled paint. “Duh, Oyaji, it's Transformers.”

Kagome frowned, putting Nao's coat on the beaming girl. “Ryuu, don't call your father `oyaji'.” She reprimanded.

“Why not? He calls himself that!”

“InuYasha…”

“What? You've never complained before!”

“Your children have never called you it before. Ryuu, apologize, and InuYasha, don't use that language!”

“Hai… Sorry, Otou…”

InuYasha nodded, distracted by the slamming of a car door outside. “Your mother's here.”

Mama was looking somewhat worse for the wear lately as well. She hadn't taken the news very well, and often slept over a few nights a week to help Kagome with the housework and the children, as well as watching Nao carefully.

 

“Mama, we'll be fine. InuYasha got things worked out with the company, he's home most of the day now.” Kagome protested as her mother deposited a suitcase in one of their spare bedrooms.

She turned and gripped her daughter's chin, going over her face inch by inch with a perceptive mother's eye. “You haven't been sleeping. You haven't been with your husband. You're overworking yourself, you've got lines forming on your face, and you deny your own mother's help? I raised you to know when you've reached your limit.”

“I know my limits, Mama. I've gone past them dozens of times. Ask InuYasha.”

Her mate snorted from the doorway. “Gone past them, fainted, slept for days, took more days to regain your strength… I know, Kagome. I was right there. Be a good wench and accept your mother's help.”

Kagome looked down. As much as she hated to admit it, she was tired, all of the time. Four children, one of them who was seizure- and heart-failure-prone, classwork, and housework were getting to her. InuYasha was helping where he could, but even then, she knew she was taking on too much. She'd burn herself out sooner or later. “Alright Mama…”

 

“OBAA-CHAN!” Nao squealed, launching herself at her grandmother.

Mama eagerly scooped up the toddler, kissing her cheek. “How's my little Nao today?”

“Good, Obaa-chan!”

Kagome smiled tiredly at her mother. “Hi Mama.”

InuYasha acknowledged his mother-in-law with a nod, ruffling Ryuu's hair briefly, earning mutters and an annoyed look in return. “We should get going. These things take forever as it is.” He said, sliding sandals onto his feet.

Sachi hugged his grandmother's leg as the four left at home waved good-bye.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

InuYasha's so quiet these days… Then again, I'm not so chatty either. Kagome thought while folding and refolding her hands on her lap. Nao was back getting her fMRI exam, and they had nothing to do but wait.

They sat stiffly in the cold, plastic chairs in the waiting area, unsure of what to say to the other. Kagome fingered the end of her shirt. InuYasha shifted, looking away, and down the hall. His nose wrinkled, still unused to the scent of sickness and medicines that lingered through the halls, even with the amount of time they'd spent here in the last two years alone. Kagome sighed slightly. We can't even look at each other… She cleared her throat. “InuYasha?”

Violet eyes glanced at her. She gulped, unnerved by the steel resolve in them. “Um…”

He sighed. “Out with it, wench.”

“Are you mad at me?”

He was startled. Of all the things he'd expected her to say, that hadn't been one of them. “No, Kagome, why would I be?”

She shrugged, looking at the floor. “You seem like you are, that's all.”

He frowned. “Kagome…”

She didn't look at him. “Something's bothering you. I wish you'd tell me.”

Another silence settled over them, Kagome wishing she hadn't put him on edge, InuYasha wrestling with how to tell her he feared for her. Ten minutes later, they were saved by the squeaking wheels of the gurney gliding towards them, pushed by a nurse and carrying their youngest. Kagome leapt to her feet. “There's my baby. Were you good for the doctors?” She cooed, scooping the girl up.

InuYasha stood by. The nurse smiled. “She got a little claustrophobic in the few minutes, but after we calmed her down everything went fine. They'll be examining the scans while we take you upstairs and she does some more tests.”

 

The picture was simple enough: a house, a dog, and a child. At nearly two, though, Nao's motor skills weren't even up to par with a human two-year old. The copy she was making was barely recognizable; however, she was dutifully making sure the spots were in the correct order and size on the dog, the flower pattern on the child's shirt was of the correct size, and the chimney and windows of the house were spaced perfectly and the right amount of smoke pouring out of the chimney. The psychologist sighed as she showed the drawing to Kagome and InuYasha. “It's fairly common for those in her condition to focus on small details. There's very little evidence left we need to gather to properly diagnose her.”

 

Today was a jigsaw puzzle, much like the one her twin had probably given up on a long time ago. The pieces were large enough that a young child would have little difficulty to put together, but Nao was having trouble. The psychologist was helping as little as possible, a nudge or a clue here and there, but mostly it was a test of her thinking and deciphering abilities. Kagome watched from the one-way mirror, hurting at the tears of frustration forming in Nao's eyes. InuYasha was in the hall. Will it always be this way? I can only stand by and watch as my daughter struggles, being able to do so little to help? Will she survive long enough to have those struggles?

A tear slipped down her face. She was angry. Confused. She felt as lost as she did the morning she fell down the well, five hundred years into the past and nothing familiar about but the old tree, with a strange boy pinned to it. A hand rested on her shoulder. “Don't cry.” He told her.

She looked into those same eyes, violet instead of amber, eyes that once bored into her with more hate than she'd ever experienced. They were filled with concern, uncertainty, love, and fear. “I need an outlet…” She whispered. “Something…”

He folded her into his arms easily. “She won't die. We'll make sure of that. We'll do what we can, and hope someone can pick up what we couldn't.”

She nodded, watching as Nao played with some stuffed animals, and looked at images the psychologist held up for her. The hated puzzle was left unfinished. “Will you pick up when I can't do anymore?” She whispered.

He froze. “Kagome… please stop talking about that.”

“But—”

InuYasha spun her to face him, his eyes hard. “You don't know how that makes me feel, hearing you speak so casually, almost wistfully of your own death. You're weighing the cost of Nao's mortality against your own. What is it, as long as she survives, we'll be ok if you die? It's not as simple as that!”

She couldn't meet his eyes. “As long as you and our children survive… I want you all to be happy. I want you all to live.”

“And what about me? Have you thought what it might do to me if you died?” He snapped, letting go of her and stalking to the other side of the room.

An uncomfortable tension stretched between them. When she didn't say anything, he sat down hard. “You seem to be forgetting you're the most important person in my entire life. I'd… I'd probably die myself if you died, Kagome. If I lived, I'd probably be miserable for the rest of my life. I love our children, I do, but Kagome, you come before anything in my heart. I thought… I thought you felt the same…”

She knelt before him. “InuYasha…”

He didn't look at her. “I'm going to ask you a question. I should have probably asked this years ago; I actually was going to, but then you were pregnant, and then the twins were born, and things have just been a roller coaster since. And lately I've been wondering if you'd even want to at all…”

He pushed back the memories of her speaking so indifferently about death.

She made a questioning noise after a few moments of silence. “I don't know if it will work.” He told her, meeting her eyes. “I want to do the blood-binding with you. I'll probably live another three or four hundred years, I don't know. But I want you with me. I can't face more centuries alone, never knowing if I'll see you again. I can't breathe just thinking about it.”

Kagome was silent for a few minutes. “Why wouldn't it work?” She asked at last.

“Because I'm not a full-youkai; it might not work because my blood is both human and youkai. If it does work, we might have to do another binding in a few decades or something. I might be able to tell if that's happening; I talked to Sesshou-maru and he said he can smell his demon blood inside of Rin. I may be able to sense if it's waning in you. But that's if it will take.” InuYasha explained.

They heard a door open outside. Kagome took his hand as he started to rise. “InuYasha… when's the soonest we can do it?”

 

((…some of you are probably wondering what on earth I'm doing. I have some plans. There's going to be a small plot for the next few chapters. A small, loose plot, but a mini-plot all the same. That's all I'm going to say on the subject. Anyway, this is very nerve-wracking on me. I've been developing Nao's character for months. And wouldn't you know it, she decided to tweak her personality on me again. I wanted to go another step with her; her character was very simple to start, and then took on a life of her own. She's not got a lot going for her right now, but give her time. For more information on Nao and Williams Syndrome, please check the LiveJournal Community; I'll be posting some things on there soon after this chapter goes up. Reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading!!))